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Show BLACK TROOPS W II SURPRISE CHARGE Knives in Their Mouths, They Creep Up on Foe and Cause Slaughter. By ANDRE BEAT7MONT. (Srec-i.il War Dispatches nf the International Interna-tional Nt -.vs Service and London Daily Telegraph.) NORTHEAST FRANCE, Nov. 11. Theso are the details of a wonderful charge by Fat bans near Vprcs. The East Indians were assigned the mission mis-sion of watching for the approach of the Germans during the niht. A lieutenant with a patrol of the Fathans set out in the dark and soon reported that the Wuerttember troops, apparently several thousand strong, were in the neighborhood of Harlebeke. As a preliminary the East Indians had cut the throatg of a few sentries and fired on others, so that the advance ad-vance of the Germans was cheeked. An entire battalion of Pathans then set out under cover of nipht, creeping over the wet grass and actually stealing steal-ing behind the outposts of the Germans. Ger-mans. As he did so. each Pathan had his battle knife between his teeth ready to pounce upon any sentry that should try to give the alarm. They were told, however, to be quiet, as secrecy was one of the conditions of success in this daring ambush. A body of Moroccan troops and several sev-eral detachments of Goumiers approached, ap-proached, likewise at each flank, anil before anyone had heard the bugle call the Geimans were attacked on every side. ! In the dark the Indians seemed to; be everywhere, terrifying the Germans bv their sudden leaps and tigcr-liko attacks. at-tacks. There was an indescribable struggle German machine gun? and artillery wildly opened fire and the infantry in-fantry scattered its bullets liberally in all directions except where their assailants as-sailants lay concealed. Behind the creeping Fathans were Moroccans and Goumiers and then the regular French and colonial infantry were hurried to their support. Further back the French artillery spoke with a thundering thunder-ing voice. The battle was raging at its height before the Germans really knew from which side they were being attacked, and disorder spread among their ranks. The few trenches in which they might have taken refuge were not deen enough, and there was nothing for them to do but to run and seek shelter in tho rear. By that time strong contingents were moved on to their support and the order was given for them to recover re-cover ground they had lost. The French troops, with the East Indians still in the lead, let tho Germans Ger-mans come on until they were within 100 vards, when machine guns, which had been moved in time to be gotten into action, mowed down the first three lines of the advancing host. Nearly every man of the first German Ger-man detachment was wounded or killed, and in a short time the Pathans, followed by the Moor?, rushed into Harlebeke and slaughtered everyone that did not surrender. An entire battalion of the Wuerttem-berg Wuerttem-berg troops was driven into one of the streams flowing into the Lys, and only escaped from being annihilated by surrendering. sur-rendering. The attack, in which the Pathans plaved such a thrilling part, lasted just five hours. |